In Britain, Better Not Call It Bogus Science

Geoffrey.landis writes 'In Britain, libel laws are censoring the ability of journalists to write stories about bogus science. Simon Singh, a Ph.D. physicist and author of several best-selling popular-science books, is currently being sued by the British Chiropractic Association (BCA) for saying that there is no evidence for claims that visiting a chiropractor has health benefits. A year earlier, writer Ben Goldacre faced a libel suit for an article critical of Matthias Rath, who claimed that vitamin supplements can treat HIV and AIDS in place of conventional drugs like anti-retrovirals. In Britain, libel laws don't have any presumption of innocence — any statement made is assumed to be false unless you prove it's true. Journalists are running scared.'

Comments

Re:Proof of absence

[Timesprout]

e.g prove there is no god

Babel fish.

Re:Well Then

[westlake]

And surely you must realize the worst kind of evidence short of fabricated evidence is anecdotal evidence.

You realize of course that you have struck a blow to the heart of Slashdot.

Re:Well Then

[Techman83]

The reason you should care about the science is that there may be a legitimate, scientific solution that's cheaper and/or healthier.

The problem being that not even science can explain exactly how the human body works. Yes we do have a good understanding, and what research has taken place gives us a plethora of information we can make judgements on, but who is to say whether that interpretation is right or wrong. I have armed myself with quite a great deal of knowledge and made a choice from that. From what I gather, Scientists haven't done enough research to support or deny Chiropractics, so who's to say it's actually bogus. Your right, my guy isn't crazy, I have had assessments from a few over the years, including one that said I was going to have to see him 3 times a week (each visit costing more than the guy I currently see) for at least 12 months rather then the once every other month, sooner if required (which when I spend a weekend working on my car tends to bring that requirement well forward!)